Information Graphics

WALL STREET JOURNAL
STATSHOT: David Goldenberg
Graphics by Carl De Torres

Saturday/Sunday, March 1-2, 2014

Urban Earnings:

This graph does NOT communicate information effectively. For one, it needs a vertical axis label and more concise information about what the numerals stand for. The "ratio" is not clearly stated, so although we can see that the point from 2012 for Atlanta is close to 20 on the y-axis, it takes some thinking to figure out what that really means.

Sitting Pretty in the Box Office:

The graph above shows the proper proportions for the information provided in this graphic. From this we can concur that the journal's graphic is fairly accurate and communicates the information relatively well. The images of the Disney princesses get progressively bigger according to both their release date and number of domestic box office receipts. It is obvious that more people went to go see Snow White in theaters than Frozen. 

In With the Old:

This graph is also pretty easy to follow. It is explicit that the number of people age 85 and older in the US is drastically increasing by the decade. The men and women color coordination seems almost unnecessary because that information hardly changes over time but it does give the bar graph a pop of color. Also, while the image of the canes is cute and fits the subject matter, it is slightly misleading because it almost makes it seem like there is another gender or demographic being accounted for. At first glance, I was confused as to what the blue represented.